President Eisgruber heading to Asia for visits with alumni, universities

Posted October 23, 2013; 09:15 a.m.

by the Office of Communications

Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber departs this weekend for Asia and a series of visits to alumni and education leaders in Japan, South Korea and China.

Eisgruber will begin his tour in Tokyo on Tuesday, where he will meet with President Junichi Hamada and other officials from the University of Tokyo. Earlier this year, Princeton announced that it had established a strategic partnership with the University of Tokyo under which the schools will cooperate to give students and researchers opportunities to collaborate. Princeton also has strategic alliances with the University of São Paulo in Brazil and the University of Humboldt in Berlin, Germany.

Eisgruber will visit the Advanced Technology Center at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. He will attend an alumni reception and dinner Tuesday evening. During the dinner, he will participate in a question-and-answer session similar to those he has held and plans to hold with alumni in many other cities as part of his inaugural year "listening tour." Eisgruber took office as Princeton's 20th president on July 1.

"We are thrilled that President Eisgruber will have the opportunity so early in his presidency to meet with and hear from so many Princeton undergraduate and graduate alumni," said Margaret Miller, assistant vice president for alumni affairs.

Miller, who will also make the trip, said many of the alumni they will meet "have come back to campus or attended events in Asia over many years. We appreciate the strong affinity that Princeton alumni have for their alma mater and we look forward to seeing them next week."

On Wednesday, Eisgruber heads to Seoul for an alumni dinner and question-and-answer session. On Thursday in Beijing, Eisgruber will meet with top officials at Tsinghua University, where Princeton is opening an administrative center to support students, faculty and staff studying and researching in China.

On Friday, Eisgruber will visit with officials at Beijing Normal University and sign a collaboration agreement between the two schools. Eisgruber will also visit with leaders at Peking University and tour the Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research.

On Friday evening, Eisgruber will attend an alumni reception and dinner in Beijing before heading to Hong Kong. There, he will hold a series of meetings with alumni and attend an alumni reception and dinner on Monday evening.